Advent is the arrival of a notable person, thing, or event.

The Christian Advent season is the four Sundays preceding Christmas and either Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.  The advent wreath has four or five candles.  There are three purple candles, one pink candle on the wreath and some include a white candle in the middle.

                                    -----------------------C A N D L E-----------------------

ADVENT                    COLOR           NAME                        REPRESENTS

1st Sunday                  Purple              Prophecy                     Hope

2nd Sunday                 Purple              Bethlehem                   Love

3rd Sunday                  Pink                 Shepherd’s                  Joy

4th Sunday                  Purple              Angel’s                       Peace

Christmas Eve or

  Christmas Day          White              Christ                          Purity

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given,

and the government will be on his shoulders.

And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6

When I close my eyes and see the sweet baby Jesus, my lips curl into a smile.  A baby – a gift from our Heavenly Father to the world.  To me.  To you. 

With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last.  The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.  And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, heard his cry and saw how he died, he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God.”

Mark 15:37-39

Then I think how he died.  And, as much as we would like to, we cannot skip that part.  To skip the death, would make the gift useless. 

God loved – LOVES – us so much …..

I use clip art – a lot!  It takes time to search for just the right one.  I searched for the word LOVE.  And I found it!  It was pretty.  Lots of curves and swirls, with LOVE right in the middle.  It could be formatted to another color.  It was perfect.  Then I saw: Love in Graffiti.  Graffiti?  I would take a peek.  What could it hurt?

What could it hurt?  It did not hurt, it made me humble.  Looking at this picture, I remembered:  for unto us.  God did not send his Son for a few?  He did not send his Son only for our family and those people we like.  My goodness, he did not send him only for those that call themselves good and honest.  God sent his Son for everyone!  God sent his Son for me.  For you.  And for the person that painted the word love – on a wall – in graffiti. 

God’s love came to earth and opened the door to eternal life for US!